Two Houston neighborhoods called most dangerous in U.S.

Updated 6:39 am, Wednesday, May 1, 2013

A Third Ward neighborhood at the intersection of Dowling and McGowen ranked at No. 15 on the list. (Google Street View)

A Third Ward neighborhood at the intersection of Dowling and McGowen ranked at No. 15 on the list. (Google Street View)

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Sunnyside is ranked No. 6 among most dangerous neighborhoods.

Sunnyside is ranked No. 6 among most dangerous neighborhoods.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Chronicle

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Jaelin Fields, 18, arranges a Thanksgiving food basket as the Houston Area Urban League and Worthing High School students feed approximately 200 families in the Sunnyside Community on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012, in Houston.

Jaelin Fields, 18, arranges a Thanksgiving food basket as the Houston Area Urban League and Worthing High School students feed approximately 200 families in the Sunnyside Community on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012,

Houston City Councilmember Wanda Adams helps Matthew Osueke, 3, plant herbs and vegetables along side Senator Rodney Ellis at the newly created Harry Holmes Healthy Harvest garden in Sunnyside, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012, in Houston. Mayor Parker helped to dedicate the community garden at 4646 Brinkley, in Sunnyside. This is the first project by Urban Harvest's I-Grow Houston initiative, which helps to build community gardens on vacant land in areas with poor access to healthy fresh foods.

Mayor Annise Parker and Senator Rodney Ellis plant herbs and vegetables at the newly created Harry Holmes Healthy Harvest garden in Sunnyside, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012, in Houston. Mayor Parker helped to dedicate the community garden at 4646 Brinkley, in Sunnyside. This is the first project by Urban Harvest's I-Grow Houston initiative, which helps to build community gardens on vacant land in areas with poor access to healthy fresh foods.

Everly James, 21, joins in a closing prayer Wednesday at a seminar led by activist Quanell X at Houston’s Sunnyside Mutli-Service Center. The forum was for ex-offenders trying to find jobs and featured 10 business owners who have served time in prison.

Everly James, 21, joins in a closing prayer Wednesday at a seminar led by activist Quanell X at Houston’s Sunnyside Mutli-Service Center. The forum was for ex-offenders trying to find jobs and featured 10

Detroit tops this list with four of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the top seven, including the three most dangerous.

Detroit tops this list with four of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the top seven, including the three most dangerous.

Photo: Jeff Kowalsky

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A neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, pictured in the 2006 photo, came in at No. 24 on the list of most dangerous neighborhoods.

A neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, pictured in the 2006 photo, came in at No. 24 on the list of most dangerous neighborhoods.

Photo: TOM GILBERT

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Memphis, Tenn had two neighborhoods on the list, coming in at 23 and 11.

Memphis, Tenn had two neighborhoods on the list, coming in at 23 and 11.

Photo: Adrian Sainz, Associated Press

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West Memphis, Ark. had one neighborhood on the list, coming in at No. 21.

West Memphis, Ark. had one neighborhood on the list, coming in at No. 21.

Photo: Nikki Boertman

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Indianapolis had the No. 17 and No. 20 most dangerous neighborhoods.

Indianapolis had the No. 17 and No. 20 most dangerous neighborhoods.

Photo: AP

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Flint, Mich. had the No. 19 most dangerous neighborhood in the U.S.

Flint, Mich. had the No. 19 most dangerous neighborhood in the U.S.

Photo: Carlos Osorio, AP

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Nashville, Tenn. had the No. 18 most dangerous neighborhood.

Nashville, Tenn. had the No. 18 most dangerous neighborhood.

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Atlanta has the No. 9 most dangerous neighborhood.

Atlanta has the No. 9 most dangerous neighborhood.

Photo: Jumper, Photodisc/Getty

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Two Houston neighborhoods called most dangerous in U.S.

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There's some good news and bad news for the Houston area this week, depending on which media source you turn to.

First, the terrible news: Two Houston communities are ranked among the nation's 25 most dangerous neighborhoods, according a new study by NeighborhoodScout.com.

The website analyzed FBI data from 17,000 local law enforcement agencies to find specific neighborhoods in America with the highest predicted rates of crime, MSN Money reports.

Coming in at No. 15 in the U.S. is a Houston neighborhood centered at the intersection of Dowling and McGowen Streets, located in Houston's historic Third Ward - a broad geographical area that includes stately mansions, the University of Houston and Texas Southern University.

The community "stands out to NeighborhoodScout partly because it has more sales and service workers than nearly any other neighborhood in the country," according to MSN Money. "The area also has a very high concentration of studio apartments and other small living areas."

The violent crime rate (per 1,000) is reported as 75.89, and residents there have a 1 in 13 chance of becoming a victim of crime in one year.

The sixth-most dangerous neighborhood in America is Sunnyside, a historically black community located off Texas 288 south of downtown Houston.

The violent crime rate (per 1,000) is reported as 91.27, and residents have a 1 in 11 chance of becoming a victim of crime in one year.

All D. Freeman, a Houston comedian and political consultant who grew up in Sunnyside, said his community's ranking is "not a shock."

"It's a reality that I face every day coming here to visit my mother," said Freeman, a father of four who now lives in Alief. "A lot of the OGs (Original Gangsters) have changed their ways since the old days and are now the protectors of the neighborhood. They're now concerned that some of the older folks could get hurt because the young gangsters now are ruthless.

"These young guys are talented," he said. "I see them playing hoops but they have no destination. I don't believe that they believe that they're going to ever get out of Sunnyside. They have no hope and they have no ambition."

Freeman said political leaders "don't seem to care" about the state of affairs in Sunnyside. "That's the difference."

Ron Wilson, who grew up and still lives in Sunnyside, believes that surveillance cameras in the community would thwart crime.

"If we had cameras all along Cullen (Street) and Airport Boulevard, we would break up the violent crime," said Wilson, a former state representative who now is civil rights director at the Texas Department of Transportation.

"Are they going to break into someone's house or steal their tires off their car if they're on camera? If you know you're going to be seen, you're not going to steal it," he said.

Terrence Shanks, who chairs the city of Houston's MacGregor Super Neighborhood Council that represents the Dowling and MacGregor areas, said he takes issue with the ranking.

"The people that wrote it (ranking) probably don't live there," he said. I'm personally out in that area, I have meetings in that area and I don't see what they're seeing as far a high crime rate neighborhood. I'm not saying that no area is without crime. I think folks need to come and spend some time with us and get to know us, rather look at us as statistics."

Curiously, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and other large cities are missing from NeighborhoodScout's list. In fact, the entire western half of the country doesn't show up at all, according to MSN Money.

"Bloomberg Rankings sorted through U.S. Census data for metropolitan areas to rank those with the greatest population growth, then scored areas on growth in gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation. Combine the two scores and winnow the list to regions with more than 1 million residents, and you have America's fastest-growing cities," Bloomberg Rankings and writer Nikhil Hutheesing reported.